(Quills - Macht der Besessenheit)
US/Germany/UK (2000): Comedy/Drama/Horror/Romance
With bedroom eyes and the mischievous smirk of an insatiable roué, Geoffrey Rush is a perfect choice to play the Marquis de Sade in Quills, directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted by Doug Wright from his own stage play. Imprisoned in France's Charenton asylum at the turn of the 18th century, de Sade is a stately court jester in disheveled finery, and Rush imbues the role with the fierce urgency of a writer whose sexual fantasies are his sole remaining defense against repression and hypocrisy. Deprived of quill and ink, he writes with wine, then blood, then his own feces -- a descent into madness or an impassioned refusal to be silenced? Quills embraces freedom of expression ("such beauty, such abomination," as one character notes) while affirming that all freedoms have a price. (Amazon.com)
3 nominations
· Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 2000: Geoffrey Rush
· Achievement in Art Direction 2000: Martin Childs - Art Direction; Jill Quertier, Set Decoration
· Achievement Costume Design 2000: Jacqueline West